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The Golden Torch
Constitution - The Golden Creed Article 1: Preamble of The Golden Creed In order to protect the rights and privileges of the membership, as well the aspects of governance, a Golden Creed is warranted. It acts as a binding document to protect and lead the populace, as well as move toward a more equal and unified government and populace, one that ensures liberty and freedom. This Golden Creed acts as the highest law of The Golden Torch, and it applies to all under its governance; no one is above the law. This governance is not self imposed, yet given and ruled by those governed. The one people, united in creed, are of all different political convictions, ethnic and religious backgrounds, and social standing, yet they are all equal under The Golden Torch. These may be just words, but they hold an eternal message, that under governance comes equality, under equality comes unity, and under unity comes strength. Let The Golden Torch burn eternally bright as the highest pinnacle of united democracy in the cold, dark world in which we live. Article 2: Membership Section 1: Requirements The Members of The Golden Torch must be on the Aqua team. Non-Aqua nations joining The Golden Torch will have to change to the Aqua team in the time of one week (7 days), or apply for exception (the Senate shall vote). If a Non-Aqua nation fails to do this, the nation may be denied membership of The Golden Torch. The Golden Torch also requires all joining nations to apply for membership at The Golden Torch forums. Nations flying the AA ‘The Golden Torch’ that have not applied for membership or have been denied membership will be considered ghosts and shall be treated as such. The Principle Torchbearer of Membership is charged with accepting or denying application, and masking accepted and denied applicants as appropriate. A short interview may be required. Section 2: Terms A member of The Golden Torch is not allowed membership in any other alliance. Upon applying to The Golden Torch the applicants agree and are bound to The Golden Creed. Any and all violations can lead to disciplinary action at the discretion of the Panel of Judges. Section 3: Rights Members of the Golden Torch have the right to freedom of speech; that is, they are permitted to criticize, petition, discuss, and express their view openly without persecution. Members do not, however, have the right to violate The Golden Creed through hateful or discriminatory language. Article 3: Government Structure Section 1: The Head of State The Head of State is the principle administrator of The Golden Torch, overseeing the creation of government nomination, debate, and election threads as well as legislature polling threads. He/she is responsible for making sure that all ministries are functioning properly and that other government officials maintain satisfactory activity in their departments. He/she may appoint a Secretary of State to help him with these tasks. The Head of State will be active in ratifying and proposing treaties, appointing temporary Judges (if needed), and declaring war. Any current or former Principle Torchbearers, Senators, or Judges may be nominated for Head of State. The Head of State shall serve for 6 months and will be elected every January and July. Section 2: The Principle Torchbearers The Principle Torchbearers oversee the ministries of The Golden Torch. They shall serve for four months and shall be elected every March, July, and November. The Principle Torchbearer of Conquest is responsible for both defensive and offensive readiness of the alliance. His/her tasks are to keep The Golden Torch’s war guides updated and to ensure the military readiness of the alliance. The Principle Torchbearer of Conquest is also responsible for handling the nations ghosting or attacking The Golden Torch. The Principle Torchbearer of Diplomacy is responsible for maintaining the embassies and masks of foreign diplomats. All diplomats report to the Principle Torchbearer of Diplomacy. He/she also coordinates all the diplomatic projects of The Golden Torch. The Principle Torchbearer of Membership is responsible for recruiting and masking new members of the alliance and managing the nation guides of The Golden Torch. The Principle Torchbearer of Growth is responsible for managing trades and trade circles, technology deals, and grants for The Golden Torch. He/she is also responsible for initiating growth programs for the alliance. Section 3: The Senate The Senate shall serve as the legislative branch of The Golden Torch. All legislature, including an amendment to The Golden Creed, shall require a majority vote of the Senate. All members who run for Senate shall be elected by the entire membership of the alliance. All Senators shall serve a term of four months. Elections will be held every January, May and September for Group A Senate candidates, and every March, July and November for Group B candidates. There is no difference between Group A and Group B except for the month in which they run. Group A and B elections will be open to any members with at least two months of seniority in The Golden Torch, and the number of seats available in each Group A and Group B elections should equal 10% of the population of the alliance, with ideally 20% of the population occupying Senate seats. In this way the size of the Senate shall evolve with the membership of the alliance. The Principle Torchbearers and Head of State shall also hold seats in the Senate. There must always be at least five (5) Senators and the number of senators is capped at fifty (50) having max twenty five (25) in either Group. When voting for Senators, members will be allowed as many votes as seats available. The Speaker of the Senate is the leading vote-getter from the latest election. He/she will post any Senate announcements on the forums and shall break any ties in the Senate. In Group A elections, the Head of Senate shall serve until the next Group B elections and the leading vote-getter in the Group B election shall serve as Head of Senate until the next Group A election. Section 4: The Panel of Judges The Panel of Judges consists of three members who interpret The Golden Creed and deal with member offenses. A 2/3-majority vote is sufficient in matters of interpretation. Judges are appointed to their office for 1 year at a time. Judges may vote to veto a Golden Creed amendment on the request of the Head of State or the Council of Founders. Judges can veto a treaty proposal as approved by the Senate with a 2/3-majority. A unanimous decision is required for banning a member nation. Judge elections will be open to the entire membership of the alliance and shall take place in February for Judge A, June for Judge B, and October for Judge C, there being no difference between A, B, and C aside from when they run. Candidates must either have seniority in The Golden Torch of at least 90 days, or have served as a Principle Torchbearer. Section 5: Impeachment Every position in the government is open for impeachment. The Senate may move to impeach a government member, and this member shall be impeached with a 50% majority in the Senate. Impeached Senators, Judges, Head of State, and Principle Torchbearers lose their powers for the duration of the investigation/debate. During the time of the debate, an impeached Principle Torchbearer shall be replaced by an Acting Principle Torchbearer. Senate seats shall be left free until the impeached senator is declared not guilty (returns to his seat) or guilty (loses his seat) and Judge seats are left free until the impeached Judge is declared not-guilty (returns to his seat) or guilty (a new Judge is appointed by the Head of State to fill the spot for the rest of the term). The debating/voting procedures should consist of the standard three days to debate, three days to vote. If an impeachment fails, the impeached member may not be impeached again until there is more evidence to be used against him. Section 6: Inactivity of a government official If a government official is too inactive without an acceptable excuse, the Head of State may move that the Panel of Judges vote to remove the government member from his seat. If the Head of State is the inactive member in question, the Speaker of the Senate may make this motion. In either case, a majority vote of the Panel of Judges will result in removal from office. Section 7: Council of Founders The council of founders consists of the founders of The Golden Torch. They hold an eternal seat to this position. The Council of Founders is an advising branch of the government, holding little real power except the capability to ask the Judges for a veto for charter amendments. Founders may ask Judges to veto a treaty proposal and take part in signing the alliance treaties, and may hold other positions within the alliance. The Council of Founders is responsible for voting on all forum and IRC administration issues. Article 4: War Section 1: Offensive Members of The Golden Torch are not allowed to declare wars without the permission of the current Principle Torchbearer of Conquest. Offensive wars may be declared on a single nation at the request of the Principle Torchbearer of Conquest. Offensive wars on an alliance or bloc require the consent of the Principle Torchbearer of Conquest, the Head of State, and a majority in the Senate. Section 2: Defensive When hostile actions are used against a member of The Golden Torch, The Golden Torch reserves the right to defend its member with all force necessary. Hostile actions include but are not limited to declaration of war, spying, aiding an enemy, and a public or private threat. The Golden Torch will use diplomacy to solve all conflicts before escalating them but reserves the right to determine when diplomacy has failed. Section 3: Policies Spy operations against other nations are considered hostile actions and are thus not allowed without the permission of the Principle Torchbearer of Conquest. Nuclear weapons are not to be used on first strike against other nations unless other otherwise instructed by the Principle Torchbearer of Conquest or the Head of State. Aiding a nation at war or whose alliance is at war requires the permission of the Principle Torchbearer of Conquest, Principle Torchbearer of Diplomacy, or Head of State. Article 5: Treaties Section 1: Treaty application All treaties with other alliance are law to all The Golden Torch members and are to be fully respected, unless contradicting The Golden Creed (in which case the treaty will be reviewed). All non-contradictory parts of the treaty still apply. Section 2: Signing treaties All treaties must be proposed by the Head of State or the Principle Torchbearer of Diplomacy to the Senate. A 3/4-majority is needed for the treaty proposal to pass. All treaties are to be signed by the Principle Torchbearer of Diplomacy, the Head of State, the Speaker of the Senate and the Council of Founders. The Principle Torchbearer of Diplomacy, the Head of State, and the Council of Founders all have the right to veto any treaty after being ratified by the Senate and before being publicly announced. Article 6: Election and Legislation Section 1: Becoming Legislation Any Senator may commence a debate regarding an edit of The Golden Creed. If a Senator feels that the Charter is in need of an amendment, they may sponsor a Bill that will be debated by the Senate and voted upon. With a majority in the Senate, the Bill will become an official Amendment. This Amendment is subject to review by the Panel of Judges. The Senate shall also vote on the alliance's position on specific Cyber Nations issues. Section 2: Debating & Voting Procedure For elections open to the general membership, nominations and debates will occur before the elections, lasting for 72 hours and beginning on the 20th day of the designated month. After 72 hours have expired, all eligible nominees will be made options in an election poll, which shall last for another 72 hours. During this time the debate may continue in the debate thread. The leading vote-getter (or however many may be selected) will take office on the first day of the following month. Similarly, debates in the Senate shall last 72 hours. If the movement receives a reasonable amount of support, the movement shall become a Bill to be voted on by the Senate. Voting shall last 72 hours, and if it receives the proper amount of votes, it will become law. Section 3: Filling Vacancies If a Senator decides to resign, take up another position, or is expelled from the Senate, a seat shall remain vacant until the next election (either A or B ). If the vacancy occurs in the Group (A or B ) whose election is to be held next (before the opposite group), the election shall commence as normal, with a vacant spot until the election. If the vacancy occurs in the opposite group as the next election, there shall be an extra seat available in that next election. The candidate that receives the lowest seat (that is, the least amount of votes but still elected to the Senate) shall serve a shortened term of two months (until the other group’s election). If a Judge decides to resign, take up another position, or is expelled from the Panel of Judges, the Head of State shall appoint an acting judge who shall serve the remainder of the removed judge's term. If a Principle Torchbearer decides to resign, take up another position, or is expelled from his/her position, the Senate shall vote on the Assistant Torchbearer(s) of the given ministry. If there are no Assistant Torchbearer, or none of the options are deemed eligible by the Senate, the Senate shall vote on an acting Principle Torchbearer to serve a shortened term (until the next election cycle). If the Head of State resigns, takes up another position, or is expelled from his/her position, the Senate shall vote to install the Secretary of State as the acting Head of State. If this vote does not pass, or there is no Secretary of State, the Senate shall vote on an acting Head of State to serve a shortened term (until the next election cycle). Article 7: Common Sense 101 Section 1: Definition Common Sense 101 is a code of conduct for the behavior on The Golden Torch forums, The Golden Torch public and private IRC channels, in-game and private messages and CN forum posts. It applies to all members of The Golden Torch, and also is to be followed by diplomats and friends to the alliance in all areas owned by The Golden Torch. Section 2: Rules 1) No blunt racism or religious/political discrimination is allowed. 2) Sexual harassment is not allowed. 3) Sexual, political, racial, and religious jokes are permitted until someone is offended and clearly vocalizes this. When you are told to stop... well, just stop. 4) No links to sites that contain anything of the above. Section 3: Violation If a member of The Golden Torch violates the “Common Sense 101” the scale of his violation will be evaluated by the Panel of Judges who then decide about the proper disciplinary actions. The actions will range from mild (a private/public warning) to extreme (ban from the forums/IRC for a certain amount of time). The extreme actions are only to be taken when the violation is very malicious and/or has taken place by the same member repeatedly. If diplomats and friends of the alliance violate Common Sense 101, they may be banned from alliance areas at the discretion of the Panel of Judges. History Category:The Golden Torch